Russia

Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Pp-extended Template:Pp-move-indef Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox country Russia,Template:Efn or the Russian Federation,Template:Efn is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the largest country in the world, and extends across eleven time zones, sharing land borders with fourteen countries.Template:Efn Russia is the most populous country in Europe and the ninth-most populous country in the world. It is a highly urbanised country, with sixteen of its urban areas having more than 1 million inhabitants. Moscow, the most populous metropolitan area in Europe, is the capital and largest city of Russia, while Saint Petersburg is its second-largest city and cultural centre.

Human settlement on the territory of modern Russia dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. The East Slavs emerged as a recognised group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. The first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus', arose in the 9th century, and in 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated; the Grand Duchy of Moscow led the unification of Russian lands, leading to the proclamation of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of Russian explorers, developing into the Russian Empire, which remains the third-largest empire in history. However, with the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's monarchic rule was abolished and eventually replaced by the Russian SFSR—the world's first constitutionally socialist state. Following the Russian Civil War, the Russian SFSR established the Soviet Union with three other Soviet republics, within which it was the largest and principal constituent. The Soviet Union underwent rapid industrialisation in the 1930s, amidst the deaths of millions under Joseph Stalin's rule, and later played a decisive role for the Allies in World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the Eastern Front. With the onset of the Cold War, it competed with the United States for ideological dominance and international influence. The Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the most significant Russian technological achievements, including the first human-made satellite and the first human expedition into outer space.

In 1991, the Russian SFSR emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as the Russian Federation. A new constitution was adopted, which established a federal semi-presidential system. Since the turn of the century, Russia's political system has been dominated by Vladimir Putin, under whom the country has experienced democratic backsliding and become an authoritarian dictatorship. Russia has been militarily involved in a number of conflicts in former Soviet states and other countries, including its war with Georgia in 2008 and its war with Ukraine since 2014. The latter has involved the internationally unrecognised annexations of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea in 2014 and four other regions in 2022, during an ongoing invasion.

Russia is generally considered a great power and is a regional power, possessing the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons and having the third-highest military expenditure in the world. It has a high-income economy, which is the eleventh-largest in the world by nominal GDP and fourth-largest by PPP, relying on its vast mineral and energy resources, which rank as the second-largest in the world for oil and natural gas production. However, Russia ranks very low in international measurements of democracy, human rights and freedom of the press, and also has high levels of perceived corruption. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council; a member state of the G20, SCO, BRICS, APEC, OSCE, and WTO; and the leading member state of post-Soviet organisations such as CIS, CSTO, and EAEU. Russia is home to 32 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Etymology

Template:Main According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English name Russia first appeared in the 14th century, borrowed from Template:Langx, used in the 11th century and frequently in 12th-century British sources, in turn derived from Template:Langx and the suffix Template:Langx.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

There are several words in Russian which translate to "Russians" in English. The noun and adjective Template:Langx refers to ethnic Russians. The adjective Template:Langx denotes Russian citizens regardless of ethnicity. The same applies to the more recently coined noun Template:Langx, in the sense of citizen of the Russian state.<ref name="Hellberg-Hirn-1998" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The oldest endonyms used were RusTemplate:' (Template:Langx) and the "Russian land" (Template:Langx).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to the Primary Chronicle, the word RusTemplate:' is derived from the Rus' people, who were a Swedish tribe, and from where the three original members of the Rurikid dynasty came from.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Finnish word for Swedes, Template:Lang, has the same origin.<ref>Template:Cite journal.</ref> In modern historiography, the early medieval East Slavic state is usually referred to as Kievan Rus', named after its capital city.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> Another Medieval Latin name for RusTemplate:' was Ruthenia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In Russian, the current name of the country, Template:Lang (Template:Lang), comes from the Byzantine Greek name Template:Lang (Template:Lang).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The name Template:Lang (Template:Lang) was first attested in 1387.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The name Template:Transliteration appeared in Russian sources in the 15th century and began to replace the vernacular RusTemplate:' during the rise of Moscow as the centre of a unified Russian state.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> However, until the end of the 17th century, the country was more often referred to by its inhabitants as RusTemplate:', the "Russian land" (Template:Transliteration), or the "Muscovite state" (Template:Transliteration), among other variations.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Hellberg-Hirn-1998">Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1721, Peter the Great proclaimed the Russian Empire (Template:Transliteration).<ref name=":0" /> The name Rossiya was used as the common designation for the multinational Russian Empire and then for the modern Russian state.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite book</ref> Rossiya is distinguished from the ethnonym russkiy, as it refers to a supranational identity, including ethnic Russians.<ref name=":7"/> After the Russian Revolution and the proclamation of the Russian SFSR in 1918, the "Russian" in the title of the state was Rossiyskaya, rather than Russkaya, as the former denoted a multinational state, while the latter had ethnic dimensions.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In modern Russian, the name RusTemplate:' is still used in poetry or prose to refer to either the older Russia or an imagined essence of Russia.<ref name=":1"/>

History

Early history

Template:Further Template:See also The first human settlement on Russia dates back to the Oldowan period in the early Lower Paleolithic. About 2 million years ago, representatives of Homo erectus migrated to the Taman Peninsula in southern Russia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Flint tools, some 1.5 million years old, have been discovered in the North Caucasus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Radiocarbon dated specimens from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains estimate the oldest Denisovan specimen lived 195–122,700 years ago.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Fossils of Denny, an archaic human hybrid that was half Neanderthal and half Denisovan, and lived some 90,000 years ago, was also found within the latter cave.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Russia was home to some of the last surviving Neanderthals, from about 45,000 years ago, found in Mezmaiskaya cave.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The first trace of an early modern human in Russia dates back to 45,000 years, in Western Siberia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The discovery of high concentration cultural remains of anatomically modern humans, from at least 40,000 years ago, was found at Kostyonki–Borshchyovo,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and at Sungir, dating back to 34,600 years ago—both in western Russia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Humans reached Arctic Russia at least 40,000 years ago, in Mamontovaya Kurya.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ancient North Eurasian populations from Siberia genetically similar to Mal'ta–Buret' culture and Afontova Gora were an important genetic contributor to Ancient Native Americans and Eastern Hunter-Gatherers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Yamnaya Steppe Pastoralists.jpg

Bronze Age spread of Yamnaya Steppe pastoralist ancestry between 3300 and 1500 BC,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> including the Afanasievo culture of southern Siberia

The Kurgan hypothesis places the Volga-Dnieper region of southern Russia and Ukraine as the urheimat of the Proto-Indo-Europeans.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Early Indo-European migrations from the Pontic–Caspian steppe of Ukraine and Russia spread Yamnaya ancestry and Indo-European languages across large parts of Eurasia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Nomadic pastoralism developed in the Pontic–Caspian steppe beginning in the Chalcolithic.<ref name="Belinskij-1999">Template:Cite journal</ref> Remnants of these steppe civilisations were discovered in places such as Ipatovo,<ref name="Belinskij-1999"/> Sintashta,<ref name="mounted">Template:Cite book</ref> Arkaim,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Pazyryk,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which bear the earliest known traces of horses in warfare.<ref name="mounted"/> The genetic makeup of speakers of the Uralic language family in northern Europe was shaped by migration from Siberia that began at least 3,500 years ago.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In the 3rd to 4th centuries CE, the Gothic kingdom of Oium existed in southern Russia, which was later overrun by Huns. Between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE, the Bosporan Kingdom, which was a Hellenistic polity that succeeded the Greek colonies,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> was also overwhelmed by nomadic invasions led by warlike tribes such as the Huns and Eurasian Avars.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Khazars, who were of Turkic origin, ruled the steppes between the Caucasus in the south, to the east past the Volga river basin, and west as far as Kyiv on the Dnieper river until the 10th century.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> After them came the Pechenegs who created a large confederacy, which was subsequently taken over by the Cumans and the Kipchaks.<ref>Carter V. Findley, The Turks in World History (Oxford University Press, 2004) Template:ISBN</ref>

The ancestors of Russians are among the Slavic tribes that separated from the Proto-Indo-Europeans, who appeared in the northeastern part of Europe Template:Circa years ago.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The East Slavs gradually settled western Russia (approximately between modern Moscow and Saint-Petersburg) in two waves: one moving from Kiev towards present-day Suzdal and Murom and another from Polotsk towards Novgorod and Rostov.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Prior to Slavic migration, that territory was populated by Finno-Ugrian peoples. From the 7th century onwards, the incoming East Slavs slowly assimilated the native Finno-Ugrians.Template:Sfn<ref>Ed. Timothy Reuter, The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 3, Cambridge University Press, 1995, pp. 494-497. Template:ISBN.</ref>

Kievan Rus'

File:Kievan-rus-1015-1113-(en).png

Kievan Rus' after the Council of Liubech in 1097

The establishment of the first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival of Varangians, the Vikings who ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern Baltic to the Black and Caspian Seas.Template:Sfn<ref name="Borrero-p3">Template:Cite book</ref> According to the Primary Chronicle, a Varangian from the Rus' people, named Rurik, was elected ruler of Novgorod in 862. In 882, his successor Oleg ventured south and conquered Kiev, which had been previously paying tribute to the Khazars.Template:Sfn<ref name="Borrero-p3" /> Rurik's son Igor and Igor's son Sviatoslav subsequently subdued all local East Slavic tribes to Kievan rule, destroyed the Khazar Khaganate,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and launched several military expeditions to Bulgaria, Byzantium and Persia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In the 10th to 11th centuries, Kievan Rus' became one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe. The reigns of Vladimir the Great (980–1015) and his son Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054) constitute the Golden Age of Kiev, which saw the acceptance of Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium, and the creation of the first East Slavic written legal code, the Russkaya Pravda.Template:Sfn The age of feudalism and decentralisation had come, marked by constant in-fighting between members of the Rurik dynasty that ruled Kievan Rus' collectively. Kiev's dominance waned, to the benefit of Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east, the Novgorod Republic in the north, and Galicia-Volhynia in the south-west.Template:Sfn By the 12th century, Kiev lost its pre-eminence and Kievan Rus' had fragmented into different principalities.<ref name="Channon-1995"/> Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky sacked Kiev in 1169 and made Vladimir his base,<ref name="Channon-1995">Template:Cite book</ref> leading to political power being shifted to the north-east.Template:Sfn

Led by Prince Alexander Nevsky, Novgorodians repelled the invading Swedes in the Battle of the Neva in 1240,<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> as well as the Germanic crusaders in the Battle on the Ice in 1242.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Kievan Rus' finally fell to the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240, which resulted in the sacking of Kiev and other cities, as well as the death of a major part of the population.Template:Sfn The invaders, later known as Tatars, formed the state of the Golden Horde, which ruled over Russia for the next two centuries.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Only the Novgorod Republic escaped foreign occupation after it agreed to pay tribute to the Mongols.Template:Sfn Galicia-Volhynia would later be absorbed by Lithuania and Poland, while the Novgorod Republic continued to prosper in the north. In the northeast, the Byzantine-Slavic traditions of Kievan Rus' were adapted to form the Russian autocratic state.Template:Sfn

Grand Principality of Moscow

File:Lissner TroiceSergievaLavr.jpg

Sergius of Radonezh blessing Dmitry Donskoy in Trinity Sergius Lavra, before the Battle of Kulikovo, depicted in a painting by Ernst Lissner

The destruction of Kievan Rus' saw the eventual rise of the Grand Principality of Moscow, initially a part of Vladimir-Suzdal.Template:SfnTemplate:Rp While still under the domain of the Mongol-Tatars and with their connivance, Moscow began to assert its influence in the region in the early 14th century,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> gradually becoming the leading force in the "gathering of the Russian lands".Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> When the seat of the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church moved to Moscow in 1325, its influence increased.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Moscow's last rival, the Novgorod Republic, prospered as the chief fur trade centre and the easternmost port of the Hanseatic League.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Led by Prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow, the united army of Russian principalities inflicted a milestone defeat on the Mongol-Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380.Template:Sfn Moscow gradually absorbed its parent duchy and surrounding principalities, including formerly strong rivals such as Tver and Novgorod.Template:Sfn

Ivan III ("the Great") threw off the control of the Golden Horde and consolidated the whole of northern Rus' under Moscow's dominion, and was the first Russian ruler to take the title "Grand Prince of all Rus". After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Moscow claimed succession to the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire. Ivan III married Sophia Palaiologina, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, and made the Byzantine double-headed eagle his own, and eventually Russia's, coat-of-arms.Template:Sfn Vasili III united all of Russia by annexing the last few independent Russian states in the early 16th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Tsardom of Russia

File:Ivan grozny frame.jpg

Ivan IV was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547, then Tsar of Russia until his death in 1584.

In development of the Third Rome ideas, the grand prince Ivan IV ("the Terrible") was officially crowned the first tsar of Russia in 1547. The tsar promulgated a new code of laws (Sudebnik of 1550), established the first Russian feudal representative body (the Zemsky Sobor), revamped the military, curbed the influence of the clergy, and reorganised local government.Template:Sfn During his long reign, Ivan nearly doubled the already large Russian territory by annexing the three Tatar khanates: Kazan and Astrakhan along the Volga,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and the Khanate of Sibir in southwestern Siberia. Ultimately, by the end of the 16th century, Russia expanded east of the Ural Mountains.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> However, the Tsardom was weakened by the long and unsuccessful Livonian War against the coalition of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (later the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), the Kingdom of Sweden, and Denmark–Norway for access to the Baltic coast and sea trade.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1572, an invading army of Crimean Tatars were thoroughly defeated in the crucial Battle of Molodi.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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Feodor Godunov's map of Russia, as published by Hessel Gerritsz in 1614

The death of Ivan's sons marked the end of the ancient Rurik dynasty in 1598, and in combination with the disastrous famine of 1601–1603, led to a civil war, the rule of pretenders, and foreign intervention during the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, taking advantage, occupied parts of Russia, extending into the capital Moscow.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1612, the Poles were forced to retreat by the Russian volunteer corps, led by merchant Kuzma Minin and prince Dmitry Pozharsky.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Romanov dynasty acceded to the throne in 1613 by the decision of the Zemsky Sobor, and the country started its gradual recovery from the crisis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Russia continued its territorial growth through the 17th century, which was the age of the Cossacks.<ref name="Siberia">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1654, the Ukrainian leader, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, offered to place Ukraine under the protection of the Russian tsar, Alexis, whose acceptance of this offer led to another Russo-Polish War. Ultimately, Ukraine was split along the Dnieper, leaving the eastern part, (Left-bank Ukraine and Kiev) under Russian rule.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the east, the rapid Russian exploration and colonisation of vast Siberia continued, hunting for valuable furs and ivory. Russian explorers pushed eastward primarily along the Siberian River Routes, and by the mid-17th century, there were Russian settlements in eastern Siberia, on the Chukchi Peninsula, along the Amur River, and on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.<ref name="Siberia"/> In 1648, Semyon Dezhnyov became the first European to navigate through the Bering Strait.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Imperial Russia

Template:Main Under Peter the Great, Russia was proclaimed an empire in 1721, and established itself as one of the European great powers. Ruling from 1682 to 1725, Peter defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721), securing Russia's access to the sea and sea trade. In 1703, on the Baltic Sea, Peter founded Saint Petersburg as Russia's new capital. Throughout his rule, sweeping reforms were made, which brought significant Western European cultural influences to Russia.Template:Sfn He was succeeded by Catherine I (1725–1727), followed by Peter II (1727–1730), and Anna. The reign of Peter I's daughter Elizabeth in 1741–1762 saw Russia's participation in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). During the conflict, Russian troops overran East Prussia, reaching Berlin.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> However, upon Elizabeth's death, all these conquests were returned to the Kingdom of Prussia by pro-Prussian Peter III of Russia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Growth of Russia 1547-1725.png

Expansion and territorial evolution of Russia from the coronation of Ivan IV to the death of Peter I

Catherine II ("the Great"), who ruled in 1762–1796, presided over the Russian Age of Enlightenment. She extended Russian political control over the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and annexed most of its territories into Russia, making it the most populous country in Europe.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the south, after the successful Russo-Turkish Wars against the Ottoman Empire, Catherine advanced Russia's boundary to the Black Sea, by dissolving the Crimean Khanate, and annexing Crimea.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> As a result of victories over Qajar Iran through the Russo-Persian Wars, by the first half of the 19th century, Russia also conquered the Caucasus.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Catherine's successor, her son Paul, was unstable and focused predominantly on domestic issues.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Following his short reign, Catherine's strategy was continued with Alexander I's (1801–1825) wresting of Finland from the weakened Sweden in 1809,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and of Bessarabia from the Ottomans in 1812.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In North America, the Russians became the first Europeans to reach and colonise Alaska.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1803–1806, the first Russian circumnavigation was made.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1820, a Russian expedition discovered the continent of Antarctica.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Great power and development of society, sciences, and arts

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Napoleon's retreat from Moscow by Albrecht Adam (1851)

During the Napoleonic Wars, Russia joined alliances with various European powers, and fought against France. The French invasion of Russia at the height of Napoleon's power in 1812 reached Moscow, but eventually failed as the obstinate resistance in combination with the bitterly cold Russian winter led to a disastrous defeat of invaders, in which the pan-European Grande Armée faced utter destruction. Led by Mikhail Kutuzov and Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, the Imperial Russian Army ousted Napoleon and drove throughout Europe in the War of the Sixth Coalition, ultimately entering Paris.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Alexander I controlled Russia's delegation at the Congress of Vienna, which defined the map of post-Napoleonic Europe.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The officers who pursued Napoleon into Western Europe brought ideas of liberalism back to Russia, and attempted to curtail the tsar's powers during the abortive Decembrist revolt of 1825.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> At the end of the conservative reign of Nicholas I (1825–1855), a zenith period of Russia's power and influence in Europe, was disrupted by defeat in the Crimean War.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Great liberal reforms and capitalism

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The Battle of Shipka Pass for the control of the vital Shipka Pass during the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War

Nicholas's successor Alexander II (1855–1881) enacted significant changes throughout the country, including the emancipation reform of 1861.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> These reforms spurred industrialisation, and modernised the Imperial Russian Army, which liberated much of the Balkans from Ottoman rule in the aftermath of the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> During most of the 19th and early 20th century, Russia and Britain colluded over Afghanistan and its neighbouring territories in Central and South Asia; the rivalry between the two major European empires came to be known as the Great Game.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The late 19th century saw the rise of various socialist movements in Russia. Alexander II was assassinated in 1881 by revolutionary terrorists.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The reign of his son Alexander III (1881–1894) was less liberal but more peaceful.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Constitutional monarchy and World War

Under last Russian emperor, Nicholas II (1894–1917), the Revolution of 1905 was triggered by the humiliating failure of the Russo-Japanese War.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The uprising was put down, but the government was forced to concede major reforms (Russian Constitution of 1906), including granting freedoms of speech and assembly, the legalisation of political parties, and the creation of an elected legislative body, the State Duma.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Revolution and civil war

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Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and the Romanovs were executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

In 1914, Russia entered World War I in response to Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Russia's ally Serbia,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and fought across multiple fronts while isolated from its Triple Entente allies.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1916, the Brusilov Offensive of the Imperial Russian Army almost completely destroyed the Austro-Hungarian Army.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> However, the already-existing public distrust of the regime was deepened by the rising costs of war, high casualties, and rumors of corruption and treason. All this formed the climate for the Russian Revolution of 1917, carried out in two major acts.Template:Sfn In early 1917, Nicholas II was forced to abdicate; he and his family were imprisoned and later executed during the Russian Civil War.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The monarchy was replaced by a shaky coalition of political parties that declared itself the Provisional Government,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and proclaimed the Russian Republic. On Template:OldStyleDateNY, 1918, the Russian Constituent Assembly declared Russia a democratic federal republic (thus ratifying the Provisional Government's decision). The next day the Constituent Assembly was dissolved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.Template:Sfn

An alternative socialist establishment co-existed, the Petrograd Soviet, wielding power through the democratically elected councils of workers and peasants, called soviets. The rule of the new authorities only aggravated the crisis in the country instead of resolving it, and eventually, the October Revolution, led by Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government and gave full governing power to the soviets, leading to the creation of the world's first socialist state.Template:Sfn The Russian Civil War broke out between the anti-communist White movement and the Bolsheviks with its Red Army.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the aftermath of signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that concluded hostilities with the Central Powers of World War I, Bolshevist Russia surrendered most of its western territories, which hosted 34% of its population, 54% of its industries, 32% of its agricultural land, and roughly 90% of its coal mines.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Vladimir Lenin speaks in Moscow, 1920, with Leon Trotsky leaning against the podium

The Allied powers launched an unsuccessful military intervention in support of anti-communist forces.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the meantime, both the Bolsheviks and White movement carried out campaigns of deportations and executions against each other, known respectively as the Red Terror and White Terror.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By the end of the violent civil war, Russia's economy and infrastructure were heavily damaged, and as many as 10 million perished during the war, mostly civilians.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Millions became White émigrés,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and the Russian famine of 1921–1922 claimed up to five million victims.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Soviet Union

File:Soviet Union - Russian SFSR (1936).svg

Location of the Russian SFSR (red) within the Soviet Union in 1936

Command economy and Soviet society

On 30 December 1922, Lenin and his aides formed the Soviet Union, by joining the Russian SFSR into a single state with the Byelorussian, Transcaucasian, and Ukrainian republics.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Eventually internal border changes and annexations during World War II created a union of 15 republics, the largest in size and population being the Russian SFSR, which dominated the union politically, culturally, and economically.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Following Lenin's death in 1924, a troika was designated to take charge. Eventually Joseph Stalin, the General Secretary of the Communist Party, managed to suppress all opposition factions and consolidate power in his hands to become the country's dictator by the 1930s.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Leon Trotsky, the main proponent of world revolution, was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Stalin's idea of Socialism in One Country became the official line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The continued internal struggle in the Bolshevik party culminated in the Great Purge.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Stalinism and modernisation

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Congratulations sent by Joseph Stalin on the opening of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant

Under Stalin's leadership, the government launched a command economy, industrialisation of the largely rural country, and collectivisation of its agriculture. During this period of rapid economic and social change, millions of people were sent to penal labour camps, including many political convicts for their suspected or real opposition to Stalin's rule,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and millions were deported and exiled to remote areas of the Soviet Union.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The transitional disorganisation of the country's agriculture, combined with the harsh state policies and a drought,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> led to the Soviet famine of 1932–1933, which killed 5.7<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> to 8.7 million, 3.3 million of them in the Russian SFSR.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Soviet Union, ultimately, made the costly transformation from a largely agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse within a short span of time.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

World War II and United Nations

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Two teenage girls assemble PPD-40 submachine guns during the Siege of Leningrad in 1942

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The Battle of Stalingrad, the largest and bloodiest battle in the history of warfare, ended in 1943 with a decisive Soviet victory against the German army.

The Soviet Union entered World War II on 17 September 1939 with its invasion of Poland,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> in accordance with a secret protocol within the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Soviet Union later invaded Finland,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and occupied and annexed the Baltic states,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> as well as parts of Romania.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp On 22 June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> opening the Eastern Front, the largest theater of World War II.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

Eventually, some 5 million Red Army troops were captured by the Nazis;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp the latter deliberately starved to death or otherwise killed 3.3 million Soviet POWs, and a vast number of civilians, as the "Hunger Plan" sought to fulfil Generalplan Ost.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Although the Wehrmacht had considerable early success, their attack was halted in the Battle of Moscow.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Subsequently, the Germans were dealt major defeats first at the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–1943,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and then in the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Another German failure was the Siege of Leningrad, in which the city was fully blockaded on land between 1941 and 1944 by German and Finnish forces, and suffered starvation and more than a million deaths, but never surrendered.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Soviet forces steamrolled through Eastern and Central Europe in 1944–1945 and captured Berlin in May 1945.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In August 1945, the Red Army invaded Manchuria and ousted the Japanese from Northeast Asia, contributing to the Allied victory over Japan.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The 1941–1945 period of World War II is known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Soviet Union, along with the United States, the United Kingdom and China were considered the Big Four of Allied powers in World War II, and later became the Four Policemen, which was the foundation of the United Nations Security Council.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp During the war, Soviet civilian and military death were about 26–27 million,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> accounting for about half of all World War II casualties.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The Soviet economy and infrastructure suffered massive devastation, which caused the Soviet famine of 1946–1947.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, at the expense of a large sacrifice, the Soviet Union emerged as a global superpower.<ref name="Reiman-2016">Template:Cite book</ref>

Superpower and Cold War

File:Yalta Conference (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin) (B&W).jpg

The "Big Three" at the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin

After World War II, according to the Potsdam Conference, the Red Army occupied parts of Eastern and Central Europe, including East Germany and the eastern regions of Austria.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Dependent communist governments were installed in the Eastern Bloc satellite states.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> After becoming the world's second nuclear power,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> the Soviet Union established the Warsaw Pact alliance,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and entered into a struggle for global dominance, known as the Cold War, with the rivalling United States and NATO.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Khrushchev Thaw reforms and economic development

After Stalin's death in 1953 and a short period of collective rule, the new leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin and launched the policy of de-Stalinization, releasing many political prisoners from the Gulag labour camps.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The general easement of repressive policies became known later as the Khrushchev Thaw.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> At the same time, Cold War tensions reached its peak when the two rivals clashed over the deployment of the United States Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Soviet missiles in Cuba.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, thus starting the Space Age.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth, aboard the Vostok 1 crewed spacecraft on 12 April 1961.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Period of developed socialism or Era of Stagnation

Following the ousting of Khrushchev in 1964, another period of collective rule ensued, until Leonid Brezhnev became the leader. The era of the 1970s and the early 1980s was later designated as the Era of Stagnation. The 1965 Kosygin reform aimed for partial decentralisation of the Soviet economy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1979, after a communist-led revolution in Afghanistan, Soviet forces invaded the country, ultimately starting the Soviet–Afghan War.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In May 1988, the Soviets started to withdraw from Afghanistan, due to international opposition, persistent anti-Soviet guerrilla warfare, and a lack of support by Soviet citizens.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Perestroika, democratisation and Russian sovereignty

File:President Ronald Reagan greets a young boy while touring Red Square during the Moscow Summit in the USSR.jpg

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan in Red Square during the Moscow Summit, 31 May 1988

From 1985 onwards, the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who sought to enact liberal reforms in the Soviet system, introduced the policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to end the period of economic stagnation and to democratise the government.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This, however, led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements across the country.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Prior to 1991, the Soviet economy was the world's second-largest, but during its final years, it went into a crisis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

By 1991, economic and political turmoil began to boil over as the Baltic states chose to secede from the Soviet Union.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 17 March, a referendum was held, in which the vast majority of participating citizens voted in favour of changing the Soviet Union into a renewed federation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In June 1991, Boris Yeltsin became the first directly elected President in Russian history when he was elected President of the Russian SFSR.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In August 1991, a coup d'état attempt by members of Gorbachev's government, directed against Gorbachev and aimed at preserving the Soviet Union, instead led to the end of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> On 25 December 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, along with contemporary Russia, fourteen other post-Soviet states emerged.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Independent Russian Federation

Transition to a market economy and political crises

File:Vladimir Putin taking the Presidential Oath, 7 May 2000.jpg

Vladimir Putin takes the oath of office as president on his first inauguration, with Boris Yeltsin looking over, 2000.

The economic and political collapse of the Soviet Union led Russia into a deep and prolonged depression. During and after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, wide-ranging reforms including privatisation and market and trade liberalisation were undertaken, including radical changes along the lines of "shock therapy".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The privatisation largely shifted control of enterprises from state agencies to individuals with inside connections in the government, which led to the rise of Russian oligarchs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Many of the newly rich moved billions in cash and assets outside of the country in an enormous capital flight.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The depression of the economy led to the collapse of social services—the birth rate plummeted while the death rate skyrocketed,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and millions plunged into poverty,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> while extreme corruption,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> as well as criminal gangs and organised crime rose significantly.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In late 1993, tensions between Yeltsin and the Russian parliament culminated in a constitutional crisis which ended violently through military force. During the crisis, Yeltsin was backed by Western governments, and over 100 people were killed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Modern liberal constitution, international cooperation and economic stabilisation

In December, a referendum was held and approved, which introduced a new constitution, giving the president enormous powers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 1990s were plagued by armed conflicts in the North Caucasus, both local ethnic skirmishes and separatist Islamist insurrections.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> From the time Chechen separatists declared independence in the early 1990s, an intermittent guerrilla war was fought between the rebel groups and Russian forces.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Terrorist attacks against civilians were carried out by Chechen separatists, claiming the lives of thousands of Russian civilians.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia assumed responsibility for settling the latter's external debts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1992, most consumer price controls were eliminated, causing extreme inflation and significantly devaluing the rouble.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> High budget deficits coupled with increasing capital flight and inability to pay back debts, caused the 1998 Russian financial crisis, which resulted in a further GDP decline.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Movement towards a modernised economy, political centralisation and democratic backsliding

Template:Further On 31 December 1999, President Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> handing the post to the recently appointed prime minister and his chosen successor, Vladimir Putin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Putin then won the 2000 presidential election,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and defeated the Chechen insurgency in the Second Chechen War.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Putin won a second presidential term in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> High oil prices and a rise in foreign investment saw the Russian economy and living standards improve significantly.<ref name="Ellyatt-2021">Template:Cite web</ref> Putin's rule increased stability, while transforming Russia into an authoritarian state.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 2008, Putin took the post of prime minister, while Dmitry Medvedev was elected President for one term, to hold onto power despite legal term limits;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> this period has been described as a "tandemocracy".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Annexation of Southern and Eastern Ukraine.svg

Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine as of 30 September 2022 at the time their annexation was declared

Following a diplomatic crisis with neighbouring Georgia, the Russo-Georgian War took place during 1–12 August 2008, resulting in Russia recognising two separatist states in the territories that it occupies in Georgia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was the first European war of the 21st century.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The 2008 constitutional amendments saw the terms of the president extend to six years and the lower house (State Duma) to five years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Putin then went on to win the 2012 presidential election, which fueled the "Snow Revolution" protests.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Invasion of Ukraine

Template:Main In early 2014, following a pro-Western revolution in neighbouring Ukraine, Russia annexed Crimea after a disputed referendum on the status of Crimea was staged under Russian occupation.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The annexation generated an insurgency in the Donbas region of Ukraine, supported by Russian military intervention as part of an undeclared war against Ukraine.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Russian mercenaries and military forces, with the support of local separatist militias, waged a war in eastern Ukraine against the new Ukrainian government after the Russian government fostered anti-government and pro-Russian protests in the region,<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> although most residents had opposed secession from Ukraine.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Amidst nationwide protests against corruption,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Putin was re-elected for his second consecutive term in the 2018 presidential election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In a major escalation of the conflict, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The invasion marked the largest conventional war in Europe since World War II,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was met with international condemnation,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as well as expanded sanctions against Russia.<ref name="Walsh-2022">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Meeting with military district commanders (2024-05-15) 14.jpg

Putin with Shoigu, Gerasimov, Belousov, Yevkurov and commanders of Russia's military districts on 15 May 2024

As a result, Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in March,<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> and was suspended from the United Nations Human Rights Council in April.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September, following successful Ukrainian counteroffensives,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Putin announced a "partial mobilisation", Russia's first mobilisation since Operation Barbarossa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the end of September, Putin proclaimed the annexation of four partially-occupied Ukrainian regions, the largest annexation in Europe since World War II.<ref name="Landay-2022">Template:Cite news</ref> Putin and Russian-installed leaders signed treaties of accession, internationally unrecognised and widely denounced as illegal.<ref name="Landay-2022" /> As a result of the invasion, hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have been killed or injured,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite Q</ref> while Russia has been accused of numerous war crimes.<ref name="n377">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="p453">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="o970">Template:Cite web</ref> The war in Ukraine has further exacerbated Russia's demographic crisis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In June 2023, the Wagner Group, a private military contractor fighting for Russia in Ukraine, declared an open rebellion against the Russian Ministry of Defence, capturing Rostov-on-Don, before beginning a march on Moscow. However, after negotiations between Wagner and the Belarusian government, the rebellion was called off.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The leader of the rebellion, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was later killed in a plane crash.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Putin won his third consecutive term in the 2024 presidential election, by winning 88% of the vote, the highest percentage in a presidential election in post-Soviet Russia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

File:Russian Federation Relief Map.png

Topographic map of Russia

Russia's vast landmass stretches over the easternmost part of Europe and the northernmost part of Asia.Template:Sfn<ref name="natgeo">Template:Cite web</ref> It spans the northernmost edge of Eurasia and has the world's fourth-longest coastline, of over Template:Convert.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia lies between latitudes 41° and 82° N, and longitudes 19° E and 169° W, extending some Template:Convert east to west, and Template:Convert north to south.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Russia, by landmass, is larger than three continents,Template:Efn and has the same surface area as Pluto.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Russia has nine major mountain ranges, and they are found along the southernmost regions, which share a significant portion of the Caucasus Mountains (containing Mount Elbrus, which at Template:Convert is the highest peak in Russia and Europe);<ref name="cia"/> the Altai and Sayan Mountains in Siberia; and in the East Siberian Mountains and the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East (containing Klyuchevskaya Sopka, which at Template:Convert is the highest active volcano in Eurasia).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn The Ural Mountains, running north to south through the country's west, are rich in mineral resources, and form the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia.<ref name="urals">Template:Cite web</ref> The lowest point in Russia and Europe, is situated at the head of the Caspian Sea, where the Caspian Depression reaches some Template:Convert below sea level.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

File:Lake Baikal in winter.jpg

Frozen Lake Baikal near Olkhon Island, the third-largest lake island in the world

Russia, as one of the world's only three countries bordering three oceans,<ref name="natgeo"/> has links with a great number of seas.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn Its major islands and archipelagos include Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, the New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island, the Kuril Islands (four of which are disputed with Japan), and Sakhalin.<ref name="Arctic">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Diomede Islands, administered by Russia and the United States, are just Template:Convert apart;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Kunashir Island of the Kuril Islands is merely Template:Convert from Hokkaido, Japan.<ref name="Chapple-2019">Template:Cite web</ref>

Russia, home of over 100,000 rivers,<ref name="natgeo"/> has one of the world's largest surface water resources, with its lakes containing approximately one-quarter of the world's liquid fresh water.Template:Sfn Lake Baikal, the largest and most prominent among Russia's fresh water bodies, is the world's deepest, purest, oldest and most capacious fresh water lake, containing over one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ladoga and Onega in northwestern Russia are two of the largest lakes in Europe.<ref name="natgeo"/> Russia is second only to Brazil by total renewable water resources.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Volga in western Russia, widely regarded as Russia's national river, is the longest river in Europe and forms the Volga Delta, the largest river delta in the continent.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Siberian rivers of Ob, Yenisey, Lena, and Amur are among the world's longest rivers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Climate

Template:Main The size of Russia and the remoteness of many of its areas from the sea result in the dominance of the humid continental climate throughout most of the country, except for the tundra and the extreme southwest. Mountain ranges in the south and east obstruct the flow of warm air masses from the Indian and Pacific oceans, while the European Plain spanning its west and north opens it to influence from the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.Template:Sfn Most of northwest Russia and Siberia have a subarctic climate, with extremely severe winters in the inner regions of northeast Siberia (mostly Sakha, where the Northern Pole of Cold is located with the record low temperature of Template:Convert),<ref name="Arctic"/> and more moderate winters elsewhere. Russia's vast coastline along the Arctic Ocean and the Russian Arctic islands have a polar climate.Template:Sfn

File:Russia Köppen.svg

Köppen climate classification of Russia

The coastal part of Krasnodar Krai on the Black Sea, most notably Sochi, and some coastal and interior strips of the North Caucasus possess a humid subtropical climate with mild and wet winters.Template:Sfn In many regions of East Siberia and the Russian Far East, winter is dry compared to summer, while other parts of the country experience more even precipitation across seasons. Winter precipitation in most parts of the country usually falls as snow. The westernmost parts of Kaliningrad Oblast and some parts in the south of Krasnodar Krai and the North Caucasus have an oceanic climate.Template:Sfn The region along the Lower Volga and Caspian Sea coast, as well as some southernmost slivers of Siberia, possess a semi-arid climate.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Throughout much of the territory, there are only two distinct seasons, winter and summer, as spring and autumn are usually brief.Template:Sfn The coldest month is January (February on the coastline); the warmest is usually July. Great ranges of temperature are typical. In winter, temperatures get colder both from south to north and from west to east. Summers can be quite hot, even in Siberia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Climate change in Russia is causing more frequent wildfires,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and thawing the country's large expanse of permafrost.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Biodiversity

Template:Main Template:See also Russia, owing to its gigantic size, has diverse ecosystems, including polar deserts, tundra, forest tundra, taiga, mixed and broadleaf forest, forest steppe, steppe, semi-desert, and subtropics.<ref name="climate">Template:Cite web</ref> About half of Russia's territory is forested,<ref name="cia"/> and it has the world's largest area of forest,<ref name="Gardiner-2021"/> which sequester some of the world's highest amounts of carbon dioxide.<ref name="Gardiner-2021">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Саблинский хребет.jpg

Yugyd Va National Park in the Komi Republic is the largest national park in Europe.<ref name="urals"/>

Russian biodiversity includes 12,500 species of vascular plants, 2,200 species of bryophytes, about 3,000 species of lichens, 7,000–9,000 species of algae, and 20,000–25,000 species of fungi. Russian fauna is composed of 320 species of mammals, over 732 species of birds, 75 species of reptiles, about 30 species of amphibians, 343 species of freshwater fish (high endemism), approximately 1,500 species of saltwater fishes, 9 species of cyclostomata, and approximately 100–150,000 invertebrates (high endemism).<ref name="climate"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Approximately 1,100 rare and endangered plant and animal species are included in the Russian Red Data Book.<ref name="climate"/>

Russia's entirely natural ecosystems are conserved in nearly 15,000 specially protected natural territories of various statuses, occupying more than 10% of the country's total area.<ref name="climate"/> They include 45 biosphere reserves,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 64 national parks, and 101 nature reserves.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although in decline, the country still has many ecosystems which are still considered intact forest, mainly in the northern taiga areas, and the subarctic tundra of Siberia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Russia had a Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 9.02 in 2019, ranking 10th out of 172 countries, and the first ranked major nation globally.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Government and politics

File:Chart Constitution of Russia EN.svg

A chart of the political system in Russia

Russia, by constitution, is a symmetric federal republic with a semi-presidential system, wherein the president is the head of state,<ref name="(Article 80, § 1)">Template:Cite web</ref> and the prime minister is the head of government.<ref name="cia"/>Template:Sfn It is structured as a multi-party representative democracy,Template:Sfn with the federal government composed of three branches:<ref name="DeRouen-2005">Template:Cite book</ref>

• Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly of Russia, made up of the 450-member State Duma and the 170-member Federation Council,<ref name="DeRouen-2005"/> adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse and the power of impeachment of the president.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, and appoints the Government of Russia (Cabinet) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.<ref name="(Article 80, § 1)"/> The president may issue decrees of unlimited scope, so long as they do not contradict the constitution or federal law.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Judiciary: The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president,<ref name="DeRouen-2005"/> interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term and may be elected no more than twice.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn Ministries of the government are composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister (whereas the appointment of the latter requires the consent of the State Duma). United Russia is the dominant political party in Russia, and has been described as "big tent" and the "party of power".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Post-Soviet Russia was a flawed democracy during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin.<ref name="Croissant">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp However, following the presidencies of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, it has experienced significant democratic backsliding.<ref name="Croissant"/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The political system evolved from electoral authoritarianism into a consolidated authoritarian regime.<ref name="Croissant"/>Template:Rp<ref name="t305"/> Some political scientists have characterized Putin as the head of a dictatorship,<ref name="Kuzio-2016">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Krzywdzinski"/><ref>Template:Cite report</ref> or a personalist regime.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="t305">Template:Cite web</ref> Putin's second tenure as president has led to further autocratization,<ref name="Croissant"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Mamaev">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp which has been the most significant since the Soviet era,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with some authors suggesting a regeneration of totalitarian elements.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Putin's ruling policies are generally referred to as Putinism.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Political divisions

Template:Main Russia, by constitution, is a symmetric (with the possibility of an asymmetric configuration) federation. Unlike the Soviet asymmetric model of the RSFSR, where only republics were "subjects of the federation", the current constitution raised the status of other regions to the level of republics and made all regions equal with the title "subject of the federation". The regions of Russia have reserved areas of competence, but regions do not have sovereignty, do not have the status of a sovereign state, do not have the right to indicate any sovereignty in their constitutions and do not have the right to secede from the country. The laws of the regions cannot contradict federal laws.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The federal subjectsTemplate:Efn have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They do, however, differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The federal districts of Russia were established by Putin in 2000 to facilitate central government control of the federal subjects.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Originally seven, currently there are eight federal districts, each headed by an envoy appointed by the president.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Map of federal subjects of Russia (2022), disputed Crimea and Donbass.svg

Federal subjects	Governance
Template:Legend	The most common type of federal subject with a governor and locally elected legislature. Commonly named after their administrative centres.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Template:Legend	Each is nominally autonomous—home to a specific ethnic minority, and has its own constitution, language, and legislature, but is represented by the federal government in international affairs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Template:Legend	For all intents and purposes, krais are legally identical to oblasts. The title "krai" ("frontier" or "territory") is historic, related to geographic (frontier) position in a certain period of history. The current krais are not related to frontiers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Template:Legend	Occasionally referred to as "autonomous district", "autonomous area", and "autonomous region", each with a substantial or predominant ethnic minority.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Template:Legend	Major cities that function as separate regions (Moscow and Saint Petersburg, as well as Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Ukraine).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Template:Legend	The only autonomous oblast is the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Foreign relations

File:2019 Foto de família dos Líderes do G20.jpg

Putin with G20 counterparts in Osaka, 2019

Russia has the world's sixth-largest diplomatic network Template:As of. It maintains diplomatic relations with 187 United Nations member states, two partially-recognised states,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and two United Nations observer states, along with 143 embassies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. It is generally described as a great power,<ref name="gambit">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="l454">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> though it has been questioned whether it can retain this status.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="f495">Template:Cite journal</ref> Russia is also a former superpower as the leading constituent of the former Soviet Union.<ref name="Reiman-2016"/> and the legal successor to Soviet foreign policies.Template:Sfn It is a member of the G20, the OSCE, and the APEC—and the leading member of organisations such as the CIS,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> the EAEU,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> the CSTO,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the SCO,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and BRICS.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Russia was also a member of the G8 (now the G7) and part of the Council of Europe before its expulsion from the two groups in 2014 and 2022, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Russia maintains close relations with neighbouring Belarus, which is a part of the Union State, a supranational confederation of the two states.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Serbia has been a historically close ally of Russia, as both countries share a strong mutual cultural, ethnic, and religious affinity.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> From the 21st century, relations between Russia and China have significantly strengthened bilaterally and economically due to shared political interests.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> India is the largest customer of Russian military equipment, and the two countries share a strong strategic and diplomatic relationship since the Soviet era.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Russia wields great political influence across the geopolitically important South Caucasus and Central Asia, and the two regions have been described as being part of Russia's "backyard"<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> or "near abroad".Template:Sfn<ref name="Kolstø">Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Russian-list-of-unfriendly-countries.svg

Template:Legend2 Russia
Template:Legend2 Countries on Russia's "Unfriendly countries list". The list includes countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia shares a complex strategic, energy, and defence relationship with Turkey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It maintains cordial relations with Iran, as it is a strategic and economic ally.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Russia has also significantly developed its relations with North Korea following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with increased defence co-operation.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> At the same time, its relations with neighbouring Ukraine and the Western world—specifically the United States and the collective countries of the European Union and NATO—have collapsed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In the 21st century, Russia has pursued an aggressive foreign policy aimed at securing regional dominance in Europe and increasing its international influence, as well as increasing domestic support for the government. It has initiated military interventions in the post-Soviet states of Georgia and Ukraine, as well as in Syria during its prolonged civil war in a bid to increase its influence in the Middle East.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Russia has also increasingly pushed to expand its influence across the Arctic,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Asia–Pacific,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Africa<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Latin America.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Two-thirds of the world's population, specifically the developing countries of the Global South, are either neutral or leaning towards Russia politically.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia has also continued using subversive tactics to increase perceptions of its geopolitical power in its rival countries,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="gambit"/> including cyberwarfare, disinformation campaigns,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> sabotage attacks,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> assassination attempts,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> airspace violations,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> electoral interferences,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and nuclear saber-rattling.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Military

File:Sukhoi Design Bureau, 054, Sukhoi Su-57 (49581303977).jpg

Sukhoi Su-57, a fifth-generation fighter of the Russian Air Force<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Russian Armed Forces are divided into the Ground Forces, the Navy, and the Aerospace Forces—and there are also two independent arms of service: the Strategic Missile Troops and the Airborne Troops.Template:Sfn<ref name="cia">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, the military have 1.1 million active-duty personnel, which is the world's fifth-largest, and about 1.5 million reserve personnel.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is mandatory for all male citizens aged 18–27 to be drafted for a year of service in the Armed Forces.<ref name="cia"/>

Russia is among the five recognised nuclear-weapons states, with the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons; over half of the world's nuclear weapons are owned by Russia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia possesses the second-largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is one of the only three countries operating strategic bombers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:As of, Russia maintains the world's third-highest military expenditure, spending $109 billion, corresponding to about 5.9% of its GDP.<ref name="SIPRI">Template:Cite web</ref> It is also the third-largest arms exporter,<ref name="SIPRI"/> and has a large and indigenous defence industry, which produces the majority of its military equipment.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Human rights

Template:Main Violations of human rights in Russia have been increasingly reported by leading democracy and human rights groups. In particular, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say that Russia is not democratic and allows few political rights and civil liberties to its citizens.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Since 2004, Freedom House has ranked Russia as "not free" in its Freedom in the World survey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 2011, the Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked Russia as an "authoritarian regime" in its Democracy Index, ranking it 150th out of 167 countries in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In regards to media freedom, Russia was ranked 162nd out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Index for 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Russian government has been widely criticised by political dissidents and human rights activists for unfair elections,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> crackdowns on opposition political parties and protests,<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> persecution of non-governmental organisations and enforced suppression and killings of independent journalists,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and censorship of mass media and internet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Protest against the invasion of Ukraine (Yekaterinburg, February 24, 2022).jpg

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, anti-war protests broke out across Russia. The protests have been met with widespread repression, leading to about 15,000 people being arrested.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Muslims, especially Salafis, have faced persecution in Russia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To quash the insurgency in the North Caucasus, Russian authorities have been accused of indiscriminate killings,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> arrests, forced disappearances, and torture of civilians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> In Dagestan, some Salafis along with facing government harassment based on their appearance, have had their homes blown up in counterinsurgency operations.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chechens and Ingush in Russian prisons reportedly take more abuse than other ethnic groups.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has set up filtration camps where many Ukrainians are subjected to abuses and forcibly sent to Russia; the camps have been compared to those used in the Chechen Wars.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Political repression also increased following the start of the invasion, with laws adopted that establish punishments for "discrediting" the armed forces.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Russia has introduced several restrictions on LGBTQ rights. In 2013, an anti-LGBTQ law banning "gay propaganda" was unanimously passed by the State Duma and the Federation Council, later being signed into law by Vladimir Putin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, the Russian parliament legalized a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in 2021 the Ministry of Justice designated the LGBTQ rights group Russian LGBT Network as a "foreign agent".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2022, further amendments were made to the 2013 anti-LGBTQ law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2023, the Russian parliament passed a bill banning gender reassignment surgery for transgender people and the Supreme Court of Russia banned the international LGBTQ movement as "extremist", outlawing it in the country.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2024, the Supreme Court issued the first convictions from the latter ruling.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Law, corruption and crime

Template:Main Post-Soviet Russia under the regime of Vladimir Putin has been governed by a form of crony capitalism.<ref name="crony">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Its political system has been variously described as a kleptocracy,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> an oligarchy,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and a plutocracy.<ref name="crony"/> Template:As of, it is the lowest rated European country in Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 154th out of the 180 countries listed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Alexei Navalny marching in 2017.jpg

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny leading protestors in Moscow in the nationwide anti-corruption protests of 2017–2018

Corruption has significantly increased following the collapse of the Soviet Union,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is seen as a significant issue in society.<ref name="markus">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It affects various sectors, including the economy,<ref name="markus"/> the government,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> law enforcement,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> healthcare,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> education,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the military.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia's shadow economy was estimated to be about 44% of the total GDP in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Penal military units have been deployed as storm troops during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War since 2022, such as the Storm-Z and Storm-V units.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to estimates by the BBC, around 48,000 prisoners were recruited to fight for the Wagner Group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The primary and fundamental statement of laws in Russia is the constitution. Statutes, such as the Russian Civil Code and the Russian Criminal Code, are the predominant legal sources of Russian law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Russia has the largest incarcerated population in Europe, and the fifth-largest incarcerated population in the world.<ref name="icjpr">Template:Cite web</ref> Its incarceration rate is among the highest in Europe,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> although the number has fallen steadily, by 59% since 2000.<ref name="icjpr" /> Template:As of, Russia's intentional homicide rate stood at 6.8 per 100,000 people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2023, Russia had the world's second-largest illegal arms trade market, after the United States, was described as a key hub for human trafficking, and was ranked first in Europe and 19th globally in the Global Organized Crime Index.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Economy

Template:Main Template:Further Russia has a high-income,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> industrialized,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> mixed market-oriented economy following a turbulent transition from the Soviet planned model during the 1990s.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It has the eleventh-largest economy by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest economy by GDP (PPP). Template:As of, the service sector accounts for roughly 57% of total GDP, followed by the industrial sector (30%), while the agricultural sector is the smallest, at 3% of total GDP.<ref name="cia"/> Russia's foreign exchange reserves are the fourth-largest in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has a labour force of about 73 million, which is the eighth-largest in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, Russia's largest trading partner by total import and export volume is China.<ref name="oec">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Business Centre of Moscow 2.jpg

The Moscow International Business Centre in Moscow. The city has one of the world's largest urban economies.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Russia's human development is ranked as "very high" in the annual Human Development Index.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Roughly 70% of Russia's total GDP is driven by domestic consumption,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the country has the world's twelfth-largest consumer market.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its social security system comprised roughly 16% of the total GDP in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia has the fifth-highest number of billionaires in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, its income inequality remains comparatively high compared to other developed countries.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The top 10% of the society received about 46% of the national income Template:As of, while the bottom half received only 20%, comparable to the share of the top 1%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The variance of natural resources among its federal subjects has also led to regional economic disparities.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> High levels of corruption,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> a shrinking labor force,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and an aging and declining population also remain major barriers to future economic growth.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country has faced extensive sanctions and other negative financial actions from the Western world and its allies which have the aim of isolating the Russian economy from the Western financial system.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, Russia has completed its transition into a war economy,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and has shown resilience to such measures broadly, maintaining economic stability and growth—driven primarily by high military expenditure,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> rising household consumption and wages,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> low unemployment,<ref name="reutersunem">Template:Cite web</ref> and increased government spending.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yet, inflation has remained comparatively high,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with experts predicting the sanctions will have a long-term negative effect on the Russian economy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Transport and energy

Template:Main Railway transport in Russia is mostly controlled by the state-run Russian Railways. The total length of common-used railway tracks is the world's third-longest, exceeding Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, Russia has the world's fifth-largest road network, with over 1.5 million km of roads.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, its road density is among the world's lowest, in part to its vast land area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia's inland waterways are the longest in the world, totaling Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has over 900 airports,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> ranking seventh in the world, of which the busiest is Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow. The largest ports include the Port of Novorossiysk, the Great Port of Saint Petersburg and the Port of Vladivostok.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Template:Multiple image Russia has one of the world's largest amounts of energy resources throughout its vast landmass, particularly natural gas and oil, which play a crucial role in its energy self-sufficiency and exports.Template:Sfn It has been widely described as an energy superpower.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Russia has the world's largest proven gas reserves,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the second-largest coal reserves,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the eighth-largest proven oil reserves,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the largest oil shale reserves in Europe.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:As of, it is also the second-largest producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the third-largest exporter of natural gas,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as the second-largest producer and exporter of crude oil.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia's large oil and gas sector accounted for 30% of its federal budget revenues in 2024, down from 50% in the mid-2010s, suggesting economic diversification.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Russia is the world's third-largest electricity producer Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fossil fuels account for over 64% of energy production and 87% of energy consumption.<ref name="energy">Template:Cite journal</ref> Natural gas is by far the largest source of energy, comprising over half of the energy production and 42% of electricity consumption.<ref name="energy"/> Russia was the first country to develop civilian nuclear power, building the world's first nuclear power plant in 1954, and remains a pioneer in nuclear energy technology and is considered a world leader in fast neutron reactors.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> Russia is the world's fourth-largest nuclear energy producer, which accounts for roughly one-fourth of energy generation (18%).<ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref> Russian energy policy aims to expand the role of nuclear energy and develop new reactor technology.<ref name=":4" /> Russia is the sole country that builds and operates nuclear-powered icebreakers,<ref name="icebreaker">Template:Cite journal</ref> which ease navigation along the Northern Sea Route,<ref name="icebreaker"/>Template:Rp and aid in utilizing its Arctic policy in its continental shelf.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Russia joined the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015, and ratified the agreement in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its greenhouse gas emissions are the fourth-largest in the world Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Coal accounts for over 16% of energy generation.<ref name="energy"/> Russia is the fifth-largest hydroelectric producer Template:As of,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> with hydroelectric power contributing almost a fifth to the total energy generation (17%).<ref name="energy"/> Though it is the eighth-largest renewable energy producer Template:As of, the use and development of other renewable energy resources remain negligible,<ref name="energy"/> as Russia is among the few countries without strong governmental or public support for a renewable energy transition.<ref name=":5" />

Agriculture and fishery

File:Wheat Tomsk.jpg

Wheat in Tomsk Oblast, Siberia

Agriculture, forestry and fishing contributes about 3.3% of the country's total GDP Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has the world's fourth-largest cultivated area, at Template:Convert. However, due to the harshness of its environment, only about 13.1% of its land is agricultural,<ref name="cia"/> with an additional 7.4% being arable.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The country's agricultural land is considered part of the "breadbasket" of Europe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> More than one-third of the sown area is devoted to fodder crops, and the remaining farmland is used industrial crops, vegetables, and fruits.<ref name="agriculturebritannica">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The main product of Russian farming has always been grain, which occupies well over half the cropland.<ref name="agriculturebritannica"/> Russia is the world's largest exporter of wheat and the largest producer of barley and buckwheat.<ref name="oec"/><ref name="fao">Template:Cite web</ref> It is also among the largest exporters of maize and sunflower oil, as well as the leading producer of fertiliser.<ref name="fao"/><ref name="oec"/>

Various analysts of climate change adaptation foresee large opportunities for Russian agriculture during the rest of the 21st century as arability increases in Siberia, which would lead to both internal and external migration to the region.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Owing to its large coastline along three oceans and twelve marginal seas, Russia maintains the world's sixth-largest fishing industry, capturing nearly 5 million tons of fish in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is home to the world's finest caviar, the beluga, and produces about one-third of all canned fish and some one-fourth of the world's total fresh and frozen fish.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Science and technology

Template:Main Template:See also Russia spent about 1% of its GDP on research and development in 2019, with the world's tenth-highest budget.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It also ranked tenth worldwide in the number of scientific publications in 2020, with roughly 1.3 million papers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 1904, Nobel Prize were awarded to 26 Soviets and Russians in physics, chemistry, medicine, economy, literature and peace.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Russia ranked 60th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024, down from 45th in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Since the times of Nikolay Lobachevsky, who pioneered the non-Euclidean geometry, and Pafnuty Chebyshev, a prominent tutor, Russian mathematicians became among the world's most influential.<ref name="math">Template:Cite journal</ref> Dmitry Mendeleev invented the Periodic table, the main framework of modern chemistry.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Nine Soviet and Russian mathematicians have been awarded with the Fields Medal. Grigori Perelman was offered the first ever Clay Millennium Prize Problems Award for his final proof of the Poincaré conjecture in 2002, as well as the Fields Medal in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:M.V. Lomonosov by L.Miropolskiy after G.C.Prenner (1787, RAN).jpg

Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–1765), polymath scientist, inventor, poet and artist

Alexander Popov was among the inventors of radio,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Nikolai Basov and Alexander Prokhorov were co-inventors of laser and maser.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Oleg Losev made crucial contributions in the field of semiconductor junctions, and discovered light-emitting diodes.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Vladimir Vernadsky is considered one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and radiogeology.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Élie Metchnikoff is known for his groundbreaking research in immunology.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ivan Pavlov is known chiefly for his work in classical conditioning.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Lev Landau made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Nikolai Vavilov was best known for having identified the centres of origin of cultivated plants.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Trofim Lysenko was known mainly for Lysenkoism.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Many famous Russian scientists and inventors were émigrés. Igor Sikorsky was an aviation pioneer.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Vladimir Zworykin was the inventor of the iconoscope and kinescope television systems.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Theodosius Dobzhansky was the central figure in the field of evolutionary biology for his work in shaping the modern synthesis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> George Gamow was one of the foremost advocates of the Big Bang theory.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Space exploration

File:Mir on 12 June 1998edit1.jpg

Mir, Russian space station that operated in LEO

Roscosmos is Russia's national space agency. The country's achievements in the field of space technology and space exploration can be traced back to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of theoretical astronautics, whose works had inspired leading Soviet rocket engineers, such as Sergey Korolyov, Valentin Glushko, and many others who contributed to the success of the Soviet space programme in the early stages of the Space Race and beyond.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

In 1957, the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched. In 1961, the first human trip into space was successfully made by Yuri Gagarin. Many other Soviet and Russian space exploration records ensued. In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first and youngest woman in space, having flown a solo mission on Vostok 6.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1965, Alexei Leonov became the first human to conduct a spacewalk, exiting the space capsule during Voskhod 2.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1957, Laika, a Soviet space dog, became the first animal to orbit the Earth, aboard Sputnik 2.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to achieve a survivable landing on a celestial body, the Moon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1968, Zond 5 brought the first Earthlings (two tortoises and other life forms) to circumnavigate the Moon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1970, Venera 7 became the first spacecraft to land on another planet, Venus.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1971, Mars 3 became the first spacecraft to land on Mars.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp During the same period, Lunokhod 1 became the first space exploration rover,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Salyut 1 became the world's first space station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:As of, Russia has 181 active satellites in space, which is the third-highest in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Between the final flight of the Space Shuttle programme in 2011 and the 2020 SpaceX's first crewed mission, Soyuz rockets were the only launch vehicles capable of transporting astronauts to the ISS.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Luna 25 launched in August 2023, was the first of the Luna-Glob Moon exploration programme.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Tourism

Template:Main According to the World Tourism Organisation, Russia was the sixteenth-most visited country in the world, and the tenth-most visited country in Europe, in 2018, with over 24.6 million visits.<ref name="unwto">Template:Cite journal</ref> According to Federal Agency for Tourism, the number of inbound trips of foreign citizens to Russia amounted to 24.4 million in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia's international tourism receipts in 2018 totaled $11.6 billion.<ref name="unwto" /> In 2019, travel and tourism accounted for about 4.8% of country's total GDP.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism declined precipitously in 2020, to just over 6.3 million foreign visitors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Grand Cascade in Peterhof 01.jpg

Peterhof Palace in Saint Petersburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Major tourist routes in Russia include a journey around the Golden Ring of Russia, a theme route of ancient Russian cities; cruises on large rivers such as the Volga; hikes on mountain ranges such as the Caucasus Mountains,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and journeys on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia's most visited and popular landmarks include Red Square, the Peterhof Palace, the Kazan Kremlin, the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius and Lake Baikal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Moscow, the nation's cosmopolitan capital and historic core, is a bustling modern megacity; it retains classical and Soviet-era architecture while boasting high art, world class ballet, and modern skyscrapers.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Saint Petersburg, the imperial capital, is famous for its classical architecture, cathedrals, museums and theatres, white nights, crisscrossing rivers and numerous canals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Russia is famed worldwide for its rich museums, such as the State Russian, the State Hermitage, and the Tretyakov Gallery, and for theatres such as the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky. The Moscow Kremlin and the Saint Basil's Cathedral are among the cultural landmarks of Russia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

Template:Main Template:Multiple image Russia had an estimated population of 146.0 million in 2025 (143.6 million excluding Crimea and Sevastopol),<ref name="gks.ru-popul" /> down from 147.2 million in the 2021 census.<ref name="2021census">Template:Ru-pop-ref</ref> It is the most populous country in Europe and ninth-most populous country in the world. With a population density of Template:Convert,<ref>146,028,325 inhabitants / 17,098,246 km² = 8.5 inhabitants per km²</ref> Russia is one of the world's most sparsely populated countries,<ref name="cia"/> with the vast majority of its people concentrated within its western part.Template:Sfn The country is highly urbanised, with two-thirds of the population living in urban areas. Template:As of, the total fertility rate across Russia is estimated to be 1.41 children born per woman,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which is below the replacement rate of 2.1 and among the lowest in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Subsequently, it has one of the oldest populations in the world, with a median age of 41.9 years.<ref name="cia" />

Russia's population peaked at over 148 million in 1993, having subsequently declined due to its death rate exceeding its birth rate, which some analysts have called a demographic crisis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2009, it recorded annual population growth for the first time in fifteen years, and subsequently experienced annual population growth due to declining death rates, increased birth rates, and increased immigration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, these population gains have been reversed since 2020, as excessive deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the largest peacetime decline in its history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the demographic crisis has deepened,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> owing to high military fatalities<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and renewed emigration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Recent studies have shown that between 15-45% of Russian emigrants have returned to Russia, though these numbers are not conclusive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Russia is a multinational state with many subnational entities associated with different minorities.Template:Sfn There are over 193 ethnic groups nationwide. In the 2010 census, roughly 81% of the population were ethnic Russians, and the remaining 19% of the population were ethnic minorities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Over four-fifths of Russia's population was of European descent—of whom the vast majority were Slavs,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> with a substantial minority of Finno-Ugric and Germanic peoples.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Russia has the third-largest immigrant population in the world, with over 12 million immigrants residing in the country Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The vast majority of the Immigrants hail from post-Soviet states, with about half of them being from Ukraine and Kazakhstan Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Largest cities of Russia

Language

Template:Main Template:Multiple image Russian is the official and the predominantly spoken language in Russia.<ref name="Chevalier-2006"/> It is the most spoken native language in Europe, the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, as well as the world's most widely spoken Slavic language.<ref name="language"/> Russian is one of two official languages aboard the International Space Station,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations.<ref name="language">Template:Cite web</ref>

Russia is a multilingual nation: approximately 100–150 minority languages are spoken across the country.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> According to the Russian Census of 2010, 137.5 million across the country spoke Russian, 4.3 million spoke Tatar, and 1.1 million spoke Ukrainian.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The constitution gives the country's individual republics the right to establish their own state languages in addition to Russian, as well as guarantee its citizens the right to preserve their native language and to create conditions for its study and development.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, various experts have claimed Russia's linguistic diversity is rapidly declining due to many languages becoming endangered.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Religion

Template:Main Russia is constitutionally a secular state that officially enshrines freedom of religion.Template:Sfn<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> The largest religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, chiefly represented by the Russian Orthodox Church,Template:Sfn<ref name="ArenaAtlas2012">Template:Cite web See also the results' main interactive mapping and the static mappings: Template:Cite map The Sreda Arena Atlas was realised in cooperation with the All-Russia Population Census 2010 (Всероссийской переписи населения 2010), the Russian Ministry of Justice (Минюста РФ), the Public Opinion Foundation (Фонда Общественного Мнения) and presented among others by the Analytical Department of the Synodal Information Department of the Russian Orthodox Church. See: Template:Cite journal</ref> which is legally recognised for its "special role" in the country's "history and the formation and development of its spirituality and culture."<ref name=":2" /> Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism are recognised by Russian law as the "traditional" religions of the country constituting its "historical heritage".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book p. 127.</ref>

Islam is the second-largest religion in Russia and is traditional among the majority of peoples in the North Caucasus and some Turkic peoples in the Volga-Ural region.Template:Sfn<ref name="ArenaAtlas2012"/> Large populations of Buddhists are found in Kalmykia, Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, and they are the vast majority of the population in Tuva.<ref name="ArenaAtlas2012"/> A negligible population practices other religions—such as Rodnovery (Slavic Neopaganism),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Assianism (Scythian Neopaganism),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> other ethnic Paganisms, and inter-Pagan movements such as Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> various movements of Hinduism,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Siberian shamanism<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Tengrism, various Neo-Theosophical movements such as Roerichism—among other faiths.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some religious minorities have faced oppression and some have been banned in the country:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> notably, in 2017 the Jehovah's Witnesses were outlawed in Russia, facing persecution ever since, after having been declared an "extremist" and "nontraditional" faith.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.jpg

Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow is the most iconic religious architecture of Russia.

In 2012, the research organisation Sreda, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, published the Arena Atlas, an adjunct to the 2010 census, enumerating in detail the religious populations and nationalities of Russia, based on a large-sample country-wide survey. The results showed that 47.3% of Russians declared themselves Christians—including 41% Russian Orthodox, 1.5% simply Orthodox or members of non-Russian Orthodox churches, 4.1% unaffiliated Christians, and less than 1% Old Believers, Catholics or Protestants—25% were believers without affiliation to any specific religion, 13% were atheists, 6.5% were Muslims,Template:Efn 1.2% were followers of "traditional religions honouring gods and ancestors" (Rodnovery, other Paganisms, Siberian shamanism and Tengrism), 0.5% were Buddhists, 0.1% were religious Jews and 0.1% were Hindus.<ref name="ArenaAtlas2012"/>

In 2024, the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) found that 61.8% of Russians identify as Orthodox Christians, 2.6% as other Christians, 9.5% as Muslims, 21.2% as not religious, 1.4% follow other religions and 3.5% are unsure about their belief.<ref name="FOM 2024">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="FOM 2024 Tables">Template:Cite web</ref> According to the survey, Orthodoxy is more widespread among women, people aged 60 and older, and people living in the Central and Southern Federal Districts, while Islam is the dominant religion in the North Caucasian Federal District.

Education

File:МГУ, вид с воздуха.jpg

Moscow State University, the most prestigious educational institution in Russia<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Russia has an adult literacy rate of 100%,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and has compulsory education for a duration of 11 years, exclusively for children aged 7 to 17–18.<ref name="Nuffic-2019"/> It grants free education to its citizens by constitution.<ref name="CEPES">Template:Cite book</ref> The Ministry of Education of Russia is responsible for primary and secondary education, as well as vocational education, while the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia is responsible for science and higher education.<ref name="Nuffic-2019">Template:Cite web</ref> Regional authorities regulate education within their jurisdictions within the prevailing framework of federal laws. Russia is among the world's most educated countries, and has the sixth-highest proportion of tertiary-level graduates in terms of percentage of population, at 62.1%.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It spent roughly 4.7% of its GDP on education in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Russia's pre-school education system is highly developed and optional,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> some four-fifths of children aged 3 to 6 attend day nurseries or kindergartens. Primary school is compulsory for eleven years, starting from age 6 to 7, and leads to a basic general education certificate.<ref name="Nuffic-2019"/> An additional two or three years of schooling are required for the secondary-level certificate, and some seven-eighths of Russians continue their education past this level.<ref name="Educationb">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Admission to an institute of higher education is selective and highly competitive:<ref name="CEPES"/> first-degree courses usually take five years.<ref name="Educationb"/> The oldest and largest universities in Russia are Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> There are ten highly prestigious federal universities across the country. Russia was the world's fifth-leading destination for international students in 2019, hosting roughly 300 thousand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Health

Template:Main Russia, by constitution, guarantees free, universal health care for all Russian citizens, through a compulsory state health insurance programme.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation oversees the Russian public healthcare system, and the sector employs more than two million people. Federal regions also have their own departments of health that oversee local administration. A separate private health insurance plan is needed to access private healthcare in Russia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Metallurg Sochi.jpg

Metallurg, a Soviet-era sanatorium in Sochi<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Russia spent 7.39% of its GDP on healthcare in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its healthcare expenditure is notably lower than other developed nations.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Russia has one of the world's most female-biased sex ratios, with 0.859 males to every female,<ref name=cia/> due to its high male mortality rate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of, the overall life expectancy in Russia at birth is 73 years (68 years for males and 78 years for females),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and it has a very low infant mortality rate (4 per 1,000 live births).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The principal cause of death in Russia are cardiovascular diseases.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Obesity is a prevalent health issue in Russia; most adults are overweight or obese.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, Russia's historically high alcohol consumption rate is the biggest health issue in the country,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> as it remains one of the world's highest, despite a stark decrease in the last decade.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Smoking is another health issue in the country.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The country's high suicide rate, although on the decline,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> remains a significant social issue.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Culture

File:Moscow-Bolshoi-Theare-1.jpg

The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, at night

Russian writers and philosophers have played an important role in the development of European literatureTemplate:Sfn<ref name="McLean-1962">Template:Cite journal</ref> and thought.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Russians have also influenced classical music,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> ballet,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> theatre,<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> mathematics,<ref name="math"/> sport,<ref name="Riordan-1993">Template:Cite journal</ref> painting,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and cinema.<ref name="Bulgakova-2012">Template:Cite web</ref> The nation has also made pioneering contributions to science and technology and space exploration.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Russia is home to 32 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 21 of which are cultural, while 31 more sites lie on the tentative list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The large global Russian diaspora has also played a major role in spreading Russian culture throughout the world. Russia's national symbol, the double-headed eagle, dates back to the Tsardom period, and is featured in its coat of arms and heraldry.Template:Sfn The Russian Bear and Mother Russia are often used as national personifications of the country.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Matryoshka dolls are considered a cultural icon of Russia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Holidays

Template:Main Russia has eight—public, patriotic, and religious—official holidays.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The year starts with New Year's Day on 1 January, soon followed by Russian Orthodox Christmas on 7 January; the two are the country's most popular holidays.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Defender of the Fatherland Day, dedicated to men, is celebrated on 23 February.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> International Women's Day on 8 March, gained momentum in Russia during the Soviet era. The annual celebration of women has become so popular, especially among Russian men, that the flower vendors of Moscow often see profits "fiften times" more compared to other holidays.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Spring and Labour Day, originally a Soviet era holiday dedicated to workers, is celebrated on 1 May.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Алые паруса.jpg

The Scarlet Sails being celebrated along the Neva in Saint Petersburg

Victory Day, which honours Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and the End of World War II in Europe, is celebrated on 9 May as an annual large parade in Moscow's Red Square<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and marks the famous Immortal Regiment civil event.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other patriotic holidays include Russia Day on 12 June, celebrated to commemorate Russia's declaration of sovereignty from the collapsing Soviet Union,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Unity Day on 4 November, commemorating the 1612 uprising which marked the end of the Polish occupation of Moscow.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

There are many popular non-public holidays. Old New Year is celebrated on 14 January.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Maslenitsa is an ancient and popular East Slavic folk holiday.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cosmonautics Day on 12 April, in tribute to the first human trip into space.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Two major Christian holidays are Easter and Trinity Sunday.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Art and architecture

Template:Main Early Russian painting is represented in icons and vibrant frescos. In the early 15th century, the master icon painter Andrei Rublev created some of Russia's most treasured religious art.Template:Sfn The Russian Academy of Arts, which was established in 1757, to train Russian artists, brought Western techniques of secular painting to Russia.Template:Sfn In the 18th century, academicians Ivan Argunov, Dmitry Levitzky, Vladimir Borovikovsky became influential.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The early 19th century saw many prominent paintings by Karl Briullov and Alexander Ivanov, both of whom were known for Romantic historical canvases.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ivan Aivazovsky, another Romantic painter, is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Multiple image In the 1860s, a group of critical realists (Peredvizhniki), led by Ivan Kramskoy, Ilya Repin and Vasiliy Perov broke with the academy, and portrayed the many-sided aspects of social life in paintings.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Brunson, M. (2016). Russian Realisms: Literature and Painting, 1840–1890. NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies. DeKalb, Il: Northern Illinois University Press.</ref> The turn of the 20th century saw the rise of symbolism, represented by Mikhail Vrubel and Nicholas Roerich.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Russian avant-garde flourished from approximately 1890 to 1930; globally influential artists from this era were El Lissitzky,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Kazimir Malevich, Natalia Goncharova, Wassily Kandinsky, and Marc Chagall.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The history of Russian architecture begins with early woodcraft buildings of ancient Slavs, and the church architecture of Kievan Rus'.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Following the Christianization of Kievan Rus', for several centuries it was influenced predominantly by Byzantine architecture.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Following Mongol occupation, Kievan Rus' cut its ties with the Byzantine Empire, and Russian architecture saw native innovations, such as the invention of the iconostasis.Template:Sfn Aristotle Fioravanti and other Italian architects brought Renaissance trends to the Grand Principality of Moscow, which influenced the reconstruction of the Moscow Kremlin.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The 16th century saw the development of the unique tent-like churches and the onion dome design, which is a distinctive feature of Russian architecture.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the 17th century, the "fiery style" of ornamentation flourished in Moscow and Yaroslavl, gradually paving the way for the Naryshkin baroque of the 1680s.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

After the reforms of Peter the Great, Russia's architecture became influenced by Western European styles.Template:Sfn The 18th-century taste for Rococo architecture led to the works of Bartolomeo Rastrelli and his followers. The most influential Russian architects of the eighteenth century, Vasily Bazhenov, Matvey Kazakov, and Ivan Starov, created lasting monuments in Moscow and Saint Petersburg and established a base for the more Russian forms that followed.Template:Sfn During the reign of Catherine the Great, Saint Petersburg was transformed into an outdoor museum of Neoclassical architecture.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Under Alexander I, Empire style became the de facto architectural style.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The second half of the 19th century was dominated by the Neo-Byzantine and Russian Revival style.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the early 20th century, Russian neoclassical revival became a trend.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Prevalent styles of the late 20th century were Art Nouveau,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Constructivism,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Socialist Classicism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Music

File:Porträt des Komponisten Pjotr I. Tschaikowski (1840-1893).jpg

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), in a 1893 painting by Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov

Until the 18th century, music in Russia consisted mainly of church music and folk songs and dances.Template:Sfn In the 19th century, it was defined by the tension between classical composer Mikhail Glinka along with other members of The Mighty Handful, who were later succeeded by the Belyayev circle,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and the Russian Musical Society led by composers Anton and Nikolay Rubinstein.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The later tradition of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, was continued into the 20th century by Sergei Rachmaninoff. World-renowned composers of the 20th century include Alexander Scriabin, Alexander Glazunov,Template:Sfn Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich, and later Edison Denisov, Sofia Gubaidulina,<ref name="music2"/> Georgy Sviridov,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Alfred Schnittke.<ref name="music2"/>

During the Soviet era, popular music also produced a number of renowned figures, such as the two balladeers—Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava,<ref name="music2">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> and performers such as Alla Pugacheva.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jazz, even with sanctions from Soviet authorities, flourished and evolved into one of the country's most popular musical forms.<ref name="music2"/> By the 1980s, rock music became popular across Russia, and produced bands such as Aria, Aquarium,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> DDT,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Kino;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the latter's leader Viktor Tsoi, was in particular, a gigantic figure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pop music has continued to flourish in Russia since the 1960s, with globally famous acts such as t.A.T.u.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Literature and philosophy

Template:Main Russian literature is among the world's most influential and developed.Template:Sfn<ref name="McLean-1962"/> It can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were composed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> By the Age of Enlightenment, literature had grown in importance, with works from Mikhail Lomonosov, Denis Fonvizin, Gavrila Derzhavin, and Nikolay Karamzin.Template:Sfn From the early 1830s, during the Golden Age of Russian Poetry, literature underwent an astounding golden age in poetry, prose and drama.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romantic literature permitted a flowering of poetic talent: Vasily Zhukovsky and later his protégé Alexander Pushkin came to the fore.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Following Pushkin's footsteps, a new generation of poets were born, including Mikhail Lermontov, Nikolay Nekrasov, Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Fyodor Tyutchev and Afanasy Fet.Template:Sfn

The first great Russian novelist was Nikolai Gogol.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Then, during the Age of Realism,Template:Sfn came Ivan Turgenev, who mastered both short stories and novels.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy soon became internationally renowned.Template:Sfn Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote prose satire,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> while Nikolai Leskov is best remembered for his shorter fiction.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the second half of the century Anton Chekhov excelled in short stories and became a leading dramatist.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other important 19th-century developments included the fabulist Ivan Krylov,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> non-fiction writers such as the critic Vissarion Belinsky,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and playwrights such as Aleksandr Griboyedov and Aleksandr Ostrovsky.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The beginning of the 20th century ranks as the Silver Age of Russian Poetry.Template:Sfn This era had poets such as Alexander Blok, Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak, and Konstantin Balmont.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It also produced some first-rate novelists and short-story writers, such as Aleksandr Kuprin, Nobel Prize winner Ivan Bunin, Leonid Andreyev, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Andrei Bely.Template:Sfn

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Russian literature split into Soviet and white émigré parts. In the 1930s, Socialist realism became the predominant trend in Russia.Template:Sfn Its leading figure was Maxim Gorky, who laid the foundations of this style.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Mikhail Bulgakov was one of the leading writers of the Soviet era.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Nikolay Ostrovsky's novel How the Steel Was Tempered has been among the most successful works of Russian literature.Template:Sfn Influential émigré writers include Vladimir Nabokov<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Isaac Asimov, who was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some writers dared to oppose Soviet ideology, such as Nobel Prize-winning novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who wrote about life in the Gulag camps.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

During the post-Soviet 1990s writers are already not recognised as very special guides by most Russians.Template:Sfn At the beginning of the 21st century, the most discussed figures, postmodernists Victor Pelevin and Vladimir Sorokin remained the leading Russian writers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Russian philosophy has been influential. Religious and spiritual philosophy is represented by works of Vladimir Solovyov, Nikolai Berdyaev, Pavel Florensky, Semyon Frank, Nikolay Lossky, Vasily Rozanov, and others.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Helena Blavatsky gained international following as the leading theoretician of Theosophy, and co-founded the Theosophical Society.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Alexander Herzen is known as one of the fathers of agrarian populism.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Mikhail Bakunin is referred to as the father of anarchism.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Peter Kropotkin was the most important theorist of anarcho-communism.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Mikhail Bakhtin's writings have significantly inspired scholars.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Vladimir Lenin, a major revolutionary, developed a variant of communism known as Leninism.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Leon Trotsky, on the other hand, founded Trotskyism.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Alexander Zinoviev was a prominent philosopher and writer in the second half of the 20th century.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Aleksandr Dugin, known for his fascist views, has been regarded as the "guru of geopolitics".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Cuisine

File:Mint bread kvas.jpg

Kvass is an ancient and traditional Russian beverage.

Russian cuisine has been formed by climate, cultural and religious traditions, and the vast geography of the nation, and it shares similarities with the cuisines of its neighbouring countries. Crops of rye, wheat, barley, and millet provide the ingredients for various breads, pancakes and cereals, as well as for many drinks. Bread, of many varieties,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is very popular across Russia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Flavourful soups and stews include shchi, borsch, ukha, solyanka, and okroshka. Smetana (a heavy sour cream) and mayonnaise are often added to soups and salads.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pirozhki,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> blini,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and syrniki are native types of pancakes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Beef Stroganoff,<ref name="Volokh-1983">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Chicken Kiev,<ref name="Volokh-1983"/>Template:Rp pelmeni,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and shashlyk are popular meat dishes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other meat dishes include stuffed cabbage rolls (golubtsy) usually filled with meat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Salads include Olivier salad,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> vinegret,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and dressed herring.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Russia's national non-alcoholic drink is kvass,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the national alcoholic drink is vodka; its production in Russia (and elsewhere) dates back to the 14th century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The country has the world's highest vodka consumption,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Wine has become increasingly popular in Russia in the 21st century.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Tea has been popular in Russia for centuries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mass media and cinema

File:2019-07-28-3385-Moscow-Ostankino-Tower.jpg

Ostankino Tower in Moscow, the tallest freestanding structure in Europe<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There are 400 news agencies in Russia, among which the largest internationally operating are TASS, RIA Novosti, Sputnik, and Interfax.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Television is the most popular medium in Russia.<ref name="bbcmedia">Template:Cite news</ref> Among the 3,000 licensed radio stations nationwide, notable ones include Radio Rossii, Vesti FM, Echo of Moscow, Radio Mayak, and Russkoye Radio. Of the 16,000 registered newspapers, Template:Lang, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Template:Lang, Izvestia, and Moskovskij Komsomolets are popular. State-run Channel One and Russia-1 are the leading news channels, while RT is the flagship of Russia's international media operations.<ref name="bbcmedia"/> Russia has the largest video gaming market in Europe, with over 65 million players nationwide.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Russian and later Soviet cinema was a hotbed of invention, resulting in world-renowned films such as Battleship Potemkin, which was named the greatest film of all time at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Soviet-era filmmakers, most notably Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky, would go on to become among of the world's most innovative and influential directors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Eisenstein was a student of Lev Kuleshov, who developed the groundbreaking Soviet montage theory of film editing at the world's first film school, the All-Union Institute of Cinematography.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Dziga Vertov's "Kino-Eye" theory had a large effect on the development of documentary filmmaking and cinema realism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many Soviet socialist realism films were artistically successful, including Chapaev, The Cranes Are Flying, and Ballad of a Soldier.<ref name="Bulgakova-2012"/>

The 1960s and 1970s saw a greater variety of artistic styles in Soviet cinema.<ref name="Bulgakova-2012"/> The comedies of Eldar Ryazanov and Leonid Gaidai of that time were immensely popular, with many of the catchphrases still in use today.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1961–68 Sergey Bondarchuk directed an Oscar-winning film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic War and Peace, which was the most expensive film made in the Soviet Union.<ref name="Bulgakova-2012"/> In 1969, Vladimir Motyl's White Sun of the Desert was released, a very popular film in a genre of ostern; the film is traditionally watched by cosmonauts before any trip into space.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian cinema industry suffered large losses—however, since the late 2000s, it has seen growth once again, and continues to expand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sports

Template:Main Football is the most popular sport in Russia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Soviet Union national football team became the first European champions by winning Euro 1960,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and reached the finals of Euro 1988.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russian clubs CSKA Moscow and Zenit Saint Petersburg won the UEFA Cup in 2005 and 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Russian national football team reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia was the host nation for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, Russian teams are currently suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Maria Sharapova (18405201199).jpg

Maria Sharapova, former world No. 1 tennis player, was the world's highest-paid female athlete for 11 consecutive years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ice hockey is very popular in Russia, and the Soviet national ice hockey team dominated the sport internationally throughout its existence.<ref name="Riordan-1993"/> Bandy is Russia's national sport, and it has historically been the highest-achieving country in the sport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Russian national basketball team won the EuroBasket 2007,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Russian basketball club PBC CSKA Moscow is among the most successful European basketball teams.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The annual Formula One Russian Grand Prix was held at the Sochi Autodrom in the Sochi Olympic Park, until its termination following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Historically, Russian athletes have been one of the most successful contenders in the Olympic Games.<ref name="Riordan-1993" /> Russia is the leading nation in rhythmic gymnastics, and Russian synchronised swimming is considered to be the world's best.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Figure skating is another popular sport in Russia, especially pair skating and ice dancing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Russia has produced numerous prominent tennis players.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chess is also a widely popular pastime in the nation, with many of the world's top chess players being Russian for decades.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 1980 Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2014 Winter Paralympics were hosted in Sochi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, Russia has also had 43 Olympic medals stripped from its athletes due to doping violations, which is the most of any country, and nearly a third of the global total.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• Outline of Russia

Sources

• Template:Free-content attribution
• Template:Cite book | also via Archive.org

Further reading

• Bartlett, Roger P. (2005). A history of Russia online
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Breslauer, George W.; Colton, Timothy J. (2017). Russia Beyond Putin (Daedalus) online
• Brown, Archie, ed. (1982). The Cambridge encyclopedia of Russia and the Soviet Union online
• Template:Cite book
• Florinsky, Michael T. ed. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Russia and the Soviet Union (1961).
• Frye, Timothy. Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin's Russia (2021) excerpt
• Greene, by Samuel A. and Graeme B. Robertson. Putin v. the People: the Perilous Politics of a Divided Russia (Yale UP, 2019) excerpt
• Hosking, Geoffrey A. Russia and the Russians: a history (2011) online
• Kort, Michael. A Brief History of Russia (2008) online
• Template:Cite EB1911
• Lowe, Norman. Mastering Twentieth Century Russian History (2002) excerpt
• Millar, James R. ed. Encyclopedia of Russian History (4 vol 2003). online
• Template:Cite book
• Riasanovsky, Nicholas V., and Mark D. Steinberg. A History of Russia (9th ed. 2018) 9th edition 1993 online
• Rosefielde, Steven. Putin's Russia: Economy, Defence and Foreign Policy (2020) excerpt
• Service, Robert. A History of Modern Russia: From Tsarism to the Twenty-First Century (Harvard UP, 3rd ed., 2009) excerpt
• Smorodinskaya, Tatiana, and Karen Evans-Romaine, eds. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Russian Culture (2014) excerpt; 800 pp covering art, literature, music, film, media, crime, politics, business, and economics.
• Walker, Shauin. The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts Of the Past (2018, Oxford UP) excerpt

External links

Template:Sister project links Template:Wikisource portal Government

• Official Russian governmental portal
• Chief of State and Cabinet Members (archived 4 October 2013)

General information

• Template:Wikiatlas
• Template:Osmrelation-inline
• Russia. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
• Russia at UCB Libraries GovPubs (archived 22 October 2008)
• Russia from BBC News
• Russia at Encyclopædia Britannica
• Key Development Forecasts for Russia from International Futures

Other

• Post-Soviet Problems from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives (archived 15 December 2012)